Guardian Mountains
The Guardian Mountains are the southernmost range of mountains on the continent, stretching across the entire southern coastline. The seaward cliffs are of a most unusual appearance, smooth and sharp, as if the entire southern face was sliced off by a knife of unimaginable size. Geography The Guardian Mountains are a fold-mountain chain over two thousand miles long and more than a hundred miles wide. The northern edges of the mountain range track down through foothills into desert, while the southern exposure ends suddenly in the sheer cliffs of the South Edge. Over ten thousand individual peaks have been catalogued by the Merrovian Cartographic Society, the highest of which is Mount Kalnas. History The Guardian Mountains are mentioned in most historical texts dealing with the southern lands, although a number of records seem contradictory or at least misleading. Scholars agree that the earliest settlement in the Guardian foothills was the town of Oortiklun, near modern Aternum. Significant locales The ends of the Guardian mountain range are the cities of Westport and Eremenk, both of which are of sufficiently low elevation to be considered outside the range itself. While a number of cities dot the northern foothills, only one human settlemet is known to exist within the range itself - the coastal city of Cliffhaven. The range is also home to a number of other important places, including the Chapel of the Valiant Knight, a holy place in the Heironean faith; the Fortress of Equity, a possibly-mythical citadel containing a magical artifact of considerable power; and Karningul, the capital city of the drow. The Guardians also hold the last enclaves of the gnomes, the citadel of Hardluck. The lower peaks and, especially, the valleys between them, are the home of the Goblin Nation, and should not be trespassed upon by the unprepared. Major inhabitants Along with a considerable number of dark elves, the Guardian Mountains are also home to more dragons than any other region. Bronze and silver dragons are more common in the southern and eastern areas, while the northern edge (near the desert) is infested with copper, brass and blue dragons. The most mountainous region, near Mount Kalnas, is home to at least four colonies of white dragons, and sightings of red and green dragons near Westport are on the rise. Those few horizon walkers of the Merrovian Cartographic Society that return from the central regions of the Guardian range also report frequent sightings of monstrous spiders, presumably allied with the dark elves, in concentrations which rise as explorers approach the center of the range. Other, less frequent reports, indicate that undead can frequently be found in the west-central areas of the range, although these reports are exclusively of unintelligent undead, such as zombies and skeletons. It is possible that those who encounter intelligent undead have never survived to report. By virtue of their greatly reduced population, the Guardians are home to most of the world's gnomes, as well as the reclusive but dangerous Goblin Nation. References in historical works The Guardian Mountains are most famously referred to in the History of Heironeous, where the passage of the Heironean army through "the mountains known as Guardians" is a major aspect of the narrative. The History's determined statement that there existed of old times lands south of the Guardian range is telling evidence that the unusual formation of the seacliffs is unnatural. The historical records of the dwarves also speak of the Guardians, stating that they were driven from the mountains by the servants of Lolth, as punishment for neglecting the worship of Moradin. These records make no mention of southern lands, but this is hardly conclusive given the dwarven narrative tradition of very close geographical focus. Category:Geography